Since the first arcade game in 1966, a submarine simulator and light gun shooter released by Saga, arcade games have evolved. Although players have made a transition to playing games at home, arcades are still incredibly popular and are a huge part of gaming culture in Japan.
There have been a number of popular arcade game reboots, such as Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat and Shinobi, but there are a whole host of classic arcade games that would provide the perfect basis for reboots. Below are some suggestions from the guys at I Want Cheats of great arcade games that could be combined with current gaming capabilities to create amazing arcade reboots.
Dungeons & Dragons: Shadow over Mystara
This arcade game was one of the last 2-D side-scrollers made by Capcom. Dungeons & Dragons: Shadow over Mystara was released in 1996 as a sequel to Dungeons & Dragons: Tower of Doom. As well as being a side-scroller, this arcade classic also had elements of role-playing and fighting gameplay. There were a whole variety of aspects to this game that set it apart from other arcade games such as multiple endings, character progression (earning new items and experience) and hidden items in the game. Although Shadow over Mystara was rereleased on Sega Saturn in 1999 and on a variety of networks in 2013, a reboot of this game using narrative features in recent games like The Walking Dead could take the origins of this game to the next level.
Rolling Thunder
Now we travel back in time from the 90’s to the 80’s. Let us refresh your memory of the predecessor to the highly popular Shinobi, Rolling Thunder. Rolling Thunder followed the mission of a superspy called Albatross, sent to rescue his partner who had been abducted by the terrorist group GELDRA. Developed by Namco and published by Atari in 1986, action side-scroller saw the protagonist up against hooded enemies with superior technology and a hunger for world domination. Although there may have been games that followed that had more advanced versions of this gameplay, a reboot of this classic would tap into players desire to defeat GELDRA, save your partner and the world!
Time Pilot
Next we take a step away from traditional side-scrollers to a multi-directional scrolling shooter that enabled players to experience free-roaming aerial combat. Often cited as one of the best arcade games of all time, Time Pilot, designed by Yoshiki Okamoto in 1982, was set in multiple time periods (1910, 1940, 1970, 1982 and 2001) and featured a futuristic fighter jet on a mission to save pilots trapped in the time periods. This Konami game allowed players total freedom by giving them the ability to scroll indefinitely in any direction. Since the time this arcade game was first created, flight simulators have come a long way. It would be great to have a reboot that took the different capabilities of the enemies and environments of the specific time periods featured in the game.
The final game on our list came about at a time I the 80’s where arcade games were experiencing a decline. Dragon’s Lair, developer by Advanced Microcomputer Systems and published by Cinematronics in 1983, followed the quest of knight Dirk the Daring to rescue Princess Daphne from the evil dragon Singe from wizard Mordroc’s castle. The game was created on LaserDisc, giving it highly superior graphics/animation compared to the other games at the time, and involved very simple gameplay dynamics. Although the popularity of the game has not diminished (it has been rereleased as a retro game on the iPhone) and it has gained a place in the Smithsonian Institution for its historical relevance, it is prime for a reboot. Although the graphics at the time were impressive, it was the story and gameplay that got players coming back for more.
These are just a few of the great arcade games that would make awesome reboots, if there are others you think we’ve missed let us know in the comments below!